The WSOP Main Event 2011

   So this being my first post into the blogosphere, I thought I'd begin with my thoughts on the WSOP Main Event. For those of you who know the game of poker (specifically No-Limit Hold Em) all of this should make perfect sense to you. For those of you who don't forgive my use of its lingo throughout this post. In fact, much of this blog will be about poker and the direction the game is going both live and online. But first The Main Event.

   In 2003, Chris Moneymaker won the biggest poker tournament in the world. An amateur who paid $40 on an online satellite and ran it to 2 million dollars by winning the Main Event. In the 3 years following, the Main Event grew from 839 entries to 8773 in 2006. aka The Jamie Gold Year. In the few years following that the number of entries declined a bit. This year there were 6865.  Not too bad considering the DOJ's smackdown on the big online poker sites in April. Next year will be the year we should see the full effects. I'm guessing the over/under is 4800.

   The true problem for the game right now is its lack of an ambassador. A Michael Jordan if you will. Or a Tiger Woods before all his troubles. The online thing has just rubbed everyone the wrong way and these well-known pros now just seem shady. The Jamie Gold thing was a black mark as well. Personally, I'm rooting for a big name pro to win it. Someone relatively upstanding that can maybe promote poker and have a positive influence. I think it would legitimize the game. Phil Ivey I'm talkin to you!

  Although Phil Ivey isn't in it this year (in fact he boycotted this year's World Series) I think there are some names at the Final Table this year that could do the game some good. First on my list is the hottest (meaning he's on a good run people) player in the world right now Ben Lamb. If he wins it would be an absolutely epic year for him at the WSOP and arguably the best run in the post Moneymaker era. The guy had already made over a million dollars at this year's WSOP before the Main Event even started. It would give him two bracelets and two other Final Tables, one of which was an 8th place finish at the Player's Championship. It would also make him WSOP Player of the Year. In a word: impressive. Did I mention he's only 26?

   Next up is Bahdi Bounahra. He's from Belize. He's the oldest player at the Final Table at 49. It would be pretty fun to watch an old man (relatively speaking of course) whip a bunch of twenty-something's asses. It'd be a great story and great for the country of Belize.

   Finally is Eoghan O'Dea. He has two scores over $250,000. His father cashed in the Main Event 6 times. He's from Ireland and that would be cool to see an Irish champion wouldn't it?





  Well, those are my picks for this year. I'll write again in a couple of days with a full analysis of the Final Table and my thoughts and feelings regarding the results. Till then....